West The and the Rest
3 main themes: 1. The world's cultural diversity in the age of globalization does it breed conflict and impede cooperation? 2. The distribution of power in the world system 3. Organization of societies in the world system
3 main perspectives:
liberal conservative radical
Francis Fukuyama, the liberal view the world is increasingly integrated on the basis of Western liberal ideas
Samuel Huntington, the conservative view the world is divided into civilizations which tend to come into conflict; the Western experience is unique
Immanuel Wallerstein, the radical view the world capitalist system has a core and a periphery
The Smart Stitch http://www.theonion.com/content/vide
The first civilizations arise in the South and the East the West is "barbarian"
Western
Slavic Orthodox Islamic Sinic Hindu Japanese
Latin American
SubSaharan African
Contemporary civilizations, according to S. Huntington
Josef Joffe, Clashing Civilizations Revisited: http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/mesh/200
Distribution of power, economic and political Development of the modern state Capital accumulation on a global scale Result: The West emerged as the core of the world system with the start of the Modern Age The past 500 years the age of Western dominance
2 perceptions of the West The West as modernity and progress
Development of more effective and successful forms of social organization Ruthless exploitation of the Rest, backed up by military superiority
The West as aggressor and exploiter
Challenge to the Rest
Adopt Western ways Fight for liberation from Western control; protect your civilization; try to redistribute world power more equitably
Power in the global markets Three quarters of all transnational corporations are based in North America, Western Europe and Japan Ninety-nine of the 100 largest transnational corporations are from the industrialized countries
The loss of languages: of 6,500 only 3,000 remain: http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/linguistics/
What happens with globalization Nation-states lose their ability to control the economy A single global hierarchy of wealth and power is created The West remains the core of the global system What happens in the periphery?
There is Africa as the bottom ironically, with the highest level of public support for capitalism The Somali pirates, see The Times: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/ar But the periphery is the also place of Rising Powers Each of them has used its own policies of development The West vs. Rising Powers?
Parag Khanna, The Second World: http://fora.tv/2008/03/26/Empires_and
The Rise of China, India and Russia: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sb_
How to make Darfur people aware of how much America cares for them: http://www.theonion.com/content/vide
Western expectations: liberal and conservative Both reflect an essentially imperialist approach keeping the Rest in a subordinate position But the 20th century saw powerful rebellions ag. Western imperialism And today's Rising Powers are a legacy of those struggles Which classes control the Rising Powers?
The West is dependent on the Rest Domination is more problematic
The War on Terror fiasco The global economic crisis Western prescriptions are on trial Western confidence is shattered
What can it do? Fight? For what?
The global society Integrated - and divided Power relations in the global political economy who owns and controls it Cultural differences and common challenges: http://www.theonion.com/content/video/china_celeb
Prospects Divisions or unity? Conflict or cooperation? The liberal globalist perspective:
Globalization, for all its problems, makes the world safer and more prosperous Danger of de-globalization and fragmentation of the world system into competing blocs A new world order can be created through collective efforts of states to manage the global system
The conse...